Author's Note

This chapter contains two parts that have been blacked out. You can read them by hovering over them. They are both #Gore tagable, but since my story isn't tagged that, I just wanna give ya'll a fair warning.

For the first blacked section (since it's kinda critical to the plot), here's what happens: (DO NOT READ UNLESS YOUR READY FOR MASSIVE SPOILERS) Gallus kills Raven

The second blacked section is just a sorta graphic description of Cadence's injurys.

Threat

Earlier….

“Where, exactly, are we heading?” asked Gallus.

“An old place I know,” said Cadence. “The Lockwood manor. Me and my old friends would stay there instead of a hotel whenever we were in town.”

“The Lockwoods?” asked Gallus. “Never heard of them.”

“They were friends with my dad. I never met them, but apparently they left the manor to dad in the will.”

“So the’re,” Fluttershy said quietly, “y’know. Gone?”

Cadence shrugged. “I think so. Maybe not all of them. But the newest generation has been… well, a bit psycho.”

“Oh,” said Gallus.

“Here, I wonder if we can find any records of them,” said Cadence, steering them into a small store, with a fading sign above the front door.

Fluttershy glanced up at the unreadable sign, then shot a quizzical glance at Gallus.

The interior of the shop was completely empty, besides some detritus and cracked cement. Cadence paused for a moment, shaking her head sadly.

“It used to be a record shop,” she said, leading them down a fading yellow hallway with peeling wallpaper. The dim lights flickered. “I think I still have some old records from here back at my castle. After this is over, maybe.”

She stopped abruptly at a seemingly normal bit of wall. “Let’s see if the demolition crews figured out the trick.”

Galus pushed against the wall. “There’s literally nothing here.” he turned to Cadence. “Look, maybe there was something here during your foalhood. That was a long time ago. So maybe–.”

Cadence’s horn lit up, and a section of the wall hinged outwards like a door.

“Wow,” said Fluttershy.

Cadence entered the room first, and a second later the lights flicked on. Gallus and Fluttershy followed her in.

The room was larger than Gallus expected, around fifty by fifty hooves. There was a metal table bolted to the floor in the center, and metal lockers lining the walls. The reason Cadence had come however, was along the back wall.

“Wow,” said Gallus.

The back wall was covered entirely by an intricately designed picture frame of sorts, framing in the largest family tree Gallus had ever seen. Due to the glass covering it, the tree was mostly intact. Only one part was shattered.

Cadence smiled. “In retrospect I’m pretty sure this place was shown to me by a member of the CIA.”

“Wait–” said Gallus. “Why is there just a massive family tree with all the ponies of Canterlot just sitting under an abandoned record store?”

Cadence shrugged. “I never really questioned it as a foal.”

“It’s probably a government secret,” said Fluttershy. “Wouldn’t it be helpful to have a map showing who’s related to who?”

“Probably,” said Gallus.

“Here,” said Cadence, pointing to two portraits. One of them was green, and wearing a funny top hat. The other was pink, and wearing her yellow mane in curls.

“Max and Magerate Lockwood,” said Gallus.

“Then Ben and Poppy,” said Cadence. “They were the ones my dad was friends with. Then Maxamillion and Ginny. Then–.” Cadence stopped.

“Oh yeah,” said Gallus. “I see what you meant when you said the newest generation was mental. Carrol and Carmon. Those assassins who attacked us.”

“Why are you missing?” asked Fluttershy suddenly. She pointed a hoof at the spot where Cadence should have been. The glass was missing, as was Cadence's portrait.

“Uh oh,” said Gallus. “I don’t really wanna stay here anymore.”

“Here!” said Fluttershy, pulling a camera out of a locker. She snapped a picture of the tree.

Cadence flicked the lights off, and they exited the secret room.

There was a startled gasp from behind them. “Why are you here?” asked Bon Bon.

“Go,” said Cadence, and they started running.

“It’s that psycho who tried to murder me!” screamed a voice from behind them.

Cadence and the others slowed down, then spun around.

Bon Bon was standing in the hall behind them, with a few other ponies behind her.

And Raven. She had a scar down her muzzle, and on one of her wings.

“You're alive?” exclaimed Gallus.

“What, you thought you could just throw me off a bridge, and I’d die?” Raven laughed scornfully. “Right, Bon Bon, let’s find out why Theo wanted you here.”

Cadence threw up a shield, as a silver blur flickered towards her in the dim light. Something exploded in the hall behind them, as the secret room burst into flames.

Cadence and the others hurried out of the hall as the smoke cleared.

In a moment they were back on the street.

The door was torn off its hinges, as Bon Bon and the others exited.

“This way,” Cadence muttered, dragging Fluttershy and Gallus across the road. They entered a supermarket.

“Why are we here?” asked Fluttershy. “Do you need some cereal?”

Cadence turned down an aisle just before the doors slid open behind them.

“But then why are we in the cereal aisle?” asked Gallus.

“Because,” said Cadence in an undertone. “We’re hiding. I don’t think we have much of a shot against them right now.”

“Ooh, chocolate,” said Gallus, grabbing a cereal box out of the wall.

“C’mon!” yelled Cadence suddenly, sending a spell through the hole in the wall.

Several curses flew at them, causing several shoppers to scream. Cadence shot a spell right at Bon Bon, who dove out of the way and crashed into a display of oranges, which rolled all over the place.

Raven flipped a knife at Cadence, but Gallus dragged her out of the way. The knife flew past them and hit a power box.

The lights went out.

There was even more panic, as ponies ran for the exits. Cadence grabbed her friends and dragged them further into the store.

A random curse missed them and hit a refrigerator. Fluttershy yelped.

“That way!” yelled Bon Bon.

Cadence spun around, and shot a spell at her. Bon Bon saw it coming and ducked. The spell hit an earth pony behind her, and stunned him.

A spell flew through the air and hit Gallus.

“Oww,” moaned Gallus, as he slammed into a box, and fell to the ground.

Cadence lit up her horn.

Then she felt an intense burning pain in her wing. She moved out of the way as several more knives flicked past her.

Cadence ducked down an aisle. Bon Bon lunged at her, but slipped in Cadence’s blood, hit the ground, and slid away.

Cadence’s horn was still lit and to her surprise she found herself on the medical aisle. She snagged a med-kit, before sending a spell down the aisle. The two racks crashed over, and she heard a startled curse from behind her. Cadence’s horn was now dark, and she ran blindly forwards, before emerging on a long straightaway. Several carts were abandoned, and the ponies who hadn’t run were using flashlights to make their way around. A beam flashed across Cadence’s vision, and she slammed into an abandoned cart. It tipped over, and Cadence felt a sudden sharp pain in her skull. She was disoriented, unsure of which way was up. She tried to get up, only to roll over onto her injured wing. She gave a sharp gasp, and rolled the other way, lighting her horn up to see.

Raven burst around the corner, and Cadence got a brief image of a knife flying towards her, before she shut her eyes, and was violently thrown to the ground. Pain surging through her, she felt that she was on carpet. Her horn was dark.

Raven let out a startled scream.

Cadence shakily got back up, and staggered down the aisle she was on. There were microwaves and coffee makers, so she assumed it was the electronics or home aisle.

Cadence felt her adrenalin rush start to wear off, and all her aches and sharp stabbing pains came back to her all at once.

She couldn’t keep going.

And then Princess Mi Amore Cadenza collapsed.

~~~~

Gallus felt himself hit the ground. He was only halfway aware of what was happening. He’d just jumped at Cadence, knocking her to the ground. The knife flew over his head, and embedded itself in a wooden shelf.

Gallus got back up, just in time to see another knife flip past him and skitter across the floor.

The only light was from a flashlight that somepony had dropped. It was pointing at Gallus, making it hard to see where Raven was.

“We meet again,” Raven snarled.

“Hello to you too,” Gallus snarled. He dove at her, sending a knife out of her hoof. Gallus slashed at her, and he felt the warm rush of blood.

Then Raven slammed Gallus to the ground.

“Bye you freak!” she screamed.

Gallus flipped the light around and blinded her. She let out a startled scream. “How'd you like?” Gallus spat, before sprinting away.

He didn’t know where Fluttershy was, and he was currently making it his top priority to find out.

Bon Bon rounded the corner. Gallus leapt up and hit her across the snout. She tumbled to the ground.

“You animal!” screamed somepony.

Bon Bon slid something across the floor, and Gallus leapt into flight, as the explosive detonated below him. He felt himself flipping out of control. He crash-landed on top of a support beam on the roof.

Somepony swore. Gallus rolled onto his back as curses flew past him on both sides.

“Take the beam out!” screamed Bon Bon.

“Are you insane!?” yelled a pony with a gray mane and yellow coat. “D’you wanna bring the whole roof down?”

“So what? Who freaking cares if a supermarket collapses!”

“We’re in the supermarket, you moron!”

Raven slid across the floor, and lept into flight. “Perhaps he’ll be dead before y'all stop fighting!”

Gallus backed up, as Raven landed on the bar.

Gallus charged, and swung his claws out, tearing Raven’s injured wing. He leapt around Raven, and for a brief moment, he was above thin air, suspended by nothing. Then he landed on the other end of the beam.

Raven howled.

Gallus’ heart was beating very fast.

“Bye,” said Raven coldly, pulling out a knife.

They rushed each other. Gallus parried the knife, then in one swift motion, put it through Raven’s throat, and cut her stomach open.

Raven fell silently from the beam. Gallus jumped, and glided across the top of some racks.

Curses incinerated them behind him, and Gallus jumped behind a row of TVs, as cursed fire spread across the floor behind him.

Gallus started sprinting again.

Bon Bon blocked his path.

Gallus rerouted, but found himself blocked by another pony.

He turned again, racing down an aisle of ovens and slow cookers. At the end there was another pony, who’s mane and coat colors were remarkable like Twilight’s.

“Get out of my way, or I’ll kill you!” Gallus yelled.

The pony pulled out a firework-crossbow.

Gallus barely avoided the rocket, and slammed into the pony. He slashed out, but the pony punched him in the face.

Gallus recovered, and moved out of the way of an incoming blow.

Then a knife struck the pony in the chest. Gallus turned around to see Bon Bon flick another knife at him. She didn’t seem particularly concerned that she’d just killed her colleague.

Gallus sprinted around the corner. Bon Bon sent a knife after him. She missed, and shattered the glass out of a microwave.

Bon Bon rounded the corner. Gallus was waiting for her.

Gallus swung out, but Bon Bon was unafraid, and simply twisted Gallus around, sending him to the floor. Gallus felt the wind knocked out of him, before Bon Bon aimed a crossbow at him.

Gallus knew it wasn’t a firework, but he also knew that dodging an arrow at this close of a range was impossible.

The crossbow splintered in Bon Bon’s hooves. She turned around to see Fluttershy holding a crossbow of her own, and aiming at her.

“That’s my friend,” said Fluttershy. “Now I know you know I don’t wanna do this, but right now, I will.”

Bon Bon stood stock still.

“Three.”

Bon Bon pulled out a knife.

“Two.”

Bon Bon was gonna do this for Lyra.

“One.”

Never back down.

Fluttershy pulled the trigger.

Bon Bon leapt out of the way, as did Gallus.

The arrow shattered on the floor.

Bon Bon threw the knife, but her aim was so horribly off, that she almost hit Pseudo-Twilight again.

Fluttershy reloaded.

“So your trigger happy,” Bon Bon remarked right before Gallus slammed her off her hooves.

Fluttershy fired again, and this time Bon Bon couldn’t move in time. Maybe it was her consciousness, not allowing her to kill her former friends, or maybe her nerves were just fried from Fluttershy of all ponies trying to shoot her.

Whatever the case, Bon Bon wound up with an arrow in her chest, and Gallus and Fluttershy wound up getting away.

~~~~

“We gotta get Cadence and get outta here,” said Gallus. He and Fluttershy were running towards the aisle where Gallus had split up with Cadence.

“We need a light,” said Fluttershy. “I can’t see anything.”

Gallus squinted around in the darkness.

“Down here,” he said, “this is the camping aisle, I think.”

They walked down the aisle quickly, until Gallus stopped Fluttershy.

“Here,” he said. “‘Camping Lanterns. 1500 lumens.’ Perfect.”

Fluttershy opened a pack of them, handing the crossbow to Gallus.

“I feel kinda bad for stealing these,” she said.

“We’re not stealing them, ‘cuz they'll never leave the store,” Gallus said.

“But isn’t opening something without buying it vandalism?”

“I don’t think so? Besides, we’re only using them to find Cadence, then get out.”

There were some yells and gasps from where they left Bon Bon.

“I don’t think they liked what you did to Bon Bon,” said Gallus.

“I don’t like what I did to Bon Bon,” said Fluttershy quietly. “But she was going to kill you, what could I do?”

Gallus sighed. “C’mon. Let’s get Cadence.”

~~~~

There was something very creepy about the area where Gallus had left Cadence. Was it the fact that there was a flashlight, abandoned, but still on, illuminating… blood? Cadence’s blood? Or Raven’s? Probably both.

Gallus shivered. The yells had stopped. The silence was overwhelming.

Gallus snatched up the flashlight, and aimed it forwards. There was a trail of blood staining the carpet.

Gallus aimed the flashlight at the carpet, before beginning to follow the trail.

It wasn’t very long.

Fluttershy let out a soft scream.

Cadence had collapsed. Her wing was lacerated, covering her side in blood. She also had a small gash on her forehead, which had spilled blood across her snout.

“Look around for a medical kit,” Gallus croaked.

Fluttershy snatched up the flashlight, and headed for the medical aisle. With her light she was able to somewhat easily locate the medical supplies aisle. At least it was a semi-decent distraction of Cadence.

The aisle seemed to have collapsed, but Fluttershy had no issues locating a med kit that wasn’t damaged. Right next to a pony who’d been crushed by the falling shelves. Fluttershy shivered.

She walked apprehensively over to Cadence and Gallus.

Gallus nodded and quickly patched Cadence up.

Gallus waved some salts under Cadence’s nose, and she woke with a start.

“Ohhh,” she moaned. “My head….”

“Calm down,” said Fluttershy soothingly. “It’s all gonna be fine, I promise.”

Cadence gave her a weak smile.

“‘Kay,” said Gallus. “Now that you're awake, let’s get outta here.”

Cadence gave a short glance around. “Employees only door. Most major stores have a backdoor for employees.”

“Clever thinking,” said Gallus.

They headed for the door.

They headed into the employees only ‘common room.’ It was basic, with a glass coffee table in the center. The walls were yellow and decorated with a wallpaper of flowers. The coffee machine was off, but the aroma of coffee lingered.

Still it was creepy in the darkness, illuminated only by the flashlight’s weakening beam.

They walked over to the door at the back.

Fluttershy pushed it open.

And everything changed.

It was suddenly so bright, the colors all so vibrant! Perhaps it was just an effect of being trapped in darkness for so long, but Gallus was content to never see the dark again.

“We made it!” said Cadence softly.

They had escaped.

Which halfway across Canterlot, Twilight and her friends were trying to do as well.